This little guy's curly top got my attention. It doesn't seem to thrilled about being up this time of day but was a good sport about having its picture taken. 8.20.13

I like the way the two snowy egrets are positioned in relationship to each other. It is kind of boring color-wise so I used a color watermark. Have a great day!! 8.18.13

This is a moth of some kind. There was a lot of noise in this shot so I did a Topaz Clean effect and added a texture and text. It works for me. 8.17.13

Have a great weekend everyone.

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Shifting gears a little today. Finally had a day off and what a wonderful day it is. We are having a million dollar day weather here in the MIdwest with low temps and humiditiy, so what did we do? Went to the zoo as did half a million other people (and their screaming kids).

I added an old paper texture to this and that's about it. 8.14.13

An awesome building in East St. Louis, Illinois. I think at one time it was a theater. The details are amazing. As you can see by the tree growing ot it and the graffiti scribbled at the top, it is slowly but surely crumbling in disrepair and abuse. 8.13.13

Masonic temple ESTL

At last I have a photo that I am proud to submit for peer review in SmugMug. Taken in East St. Louis, Illinois on a partly cloudy day. Please view in larger size to see the detail in this building.

It is a magnificent building but is starting to show signs of disrepair. From where I was standing to take this picture you could see at least a half dozen buildings that were rotting and falling to the ground. scribbled with graffiti. I hope this does not happen to this building. 8.11.13

I was going for a dreamy kind of look but It's not quite what I had envisioned. Had to start work early today so this is as good as it gets for today anyway. 8.10.13

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This is some type of honey sucker bird who lives at the STL zoo in the butterfly house. It is quite reclusive and so I was delighted to get a few shots of it preening on this occasion.

Still with allergy/sinus symptoms trying hard not to do to the doctor. 8.8.13

I kept going back to this image. I'm posting it today because I am sick and don't have the energy to find something else. I like the flare the most.

Say hello to Millie. She is such a sweet girl. She lives on a farm in Southeastern Illinois and loves roaming around. She was quite the ham actually. When she got up on the old boat and sat so pretty I had to snap her photo. 8.5.13

Sweet baby Hazel is now 2 years old. Can't help but wonder what this child is thinking at this moment. 8.5.13

This one's a keeper!!! Taken at Bass Pro Shop and loaded with noise, so what do you do? Add a texture.

Hope everyone had a great weekend. 8.4.12

Finally our first butterfly. This has been a strange year for hummingbirds and butterlfies. They are very scarce and late arriving. This photo was edited with a Kim Klassen texture. Thanks Kim. 8.3.13

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Shot taken in south Texas last year. Edited with Topaz simplify. 7.30.13 July flew by. Fall will be here before you know it and along with it lots of fall colors.

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I saw this at Bass Pro Shop. There is a fly making station. I missed watching the person who actually made the flies. Maybe next time...7.28.13

Dipping into the archives today. This cheetah cub is about 2 years old now. Bad back is slowing me down a lot right now. 7.27.13

I was a little heavy handed on the extreme processing with this photo, but I like the aged 60's feel to it. Please don't look at the skin tones. They are awful, but I otherwise liked the look. Have a great weekend all.

I took a tumble on some rocks trying to sneak up on a little blue heron. My back and Sigma 150-500 lens took the brunt of the fall and both are in need of repair. So I wont' be posting any new bird shots for awhile.

You drive right by this building in downtown St. Louis. It's been there for awhile. We have had some wonderful days with fantastic skies. I snapped this as we whizzed by on I-70 on our Monday outing.

Thanks everyone for your comments!!!!

Yes, that's a bus about to fall off the roof. How did it get up there I don't know. It also looks like there is a tree growing on the roof. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be art or what but it must have been quite an undertaking to get it up there. 7.24.2013

Sunday in the country. This old church is located near Venedy, Illinois. It has a small cemetery and is surrounded by corn fields.

I edited this by adding a couple textures by Kim Klassen. Thanks Kim.

Another shot from my trip to Cathedral Basilica. If you view it in larger size you can see Jesus at the end of the hall.

Its been awhile since I have posted a bird for my daily and I just couldn't resist this shot. The nest is empty now but it was a hot spot of activity when this house wren had 5 little mouths to feed. This is the second brood of birds I have watched grow up in my backyard this year, and I am ecstatic about it.

A shot from inside Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis. The detail of this church is unbelievable.7.19.13

In addition to growing corn and beans, this farm doubles as an old car graveyard. I bet there are a dozen "carcusses" of old cars scattered around this farm house. All different brands dating back to the 50s and maybe even longer. We got up early to go fishing and so I caught some good early morning light on this one. 7.18.13

Went into St. Louis yesterday. Was a beautiful day with lots of blue sky and fluffy clouds. This is the top of Cathedral Basilica. The architecture here is simply amazing. 7.16.13

I may have overdone on this one. In fact, the more I look at it, the more I am convinced I over did it. But it was good experience. 7/11/13

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My brother recently passed on and a few days later I ran across this doe. Funny thing was, she was not afraid of me. I was in the Jeep and saw her, backed up and fiddled with my photo equipment for a minute all the while she was just staring at me. Then, she started grazing again. Anyway, I put this together with my brother, Gene, in mind. He was a great hunter and fisherman and a great man. Rest in peace beloved brother. 7.2.13

Today the sky is filled with mountains of puffy clouds against a deep blue background. This corn field is right next to a wheat field just down the road from where I live. The wheat fields are my favorite. Hope you can see the beauty in this as I do. 6.28.13

It has certainly heated up here in the Midwest. This photo was taken in Corpus Christi, TX with a cool ocean breeze blowing. I processed it with a couple of textures to cool it down further and here you have it. 6.27.13

Boy, this is scraping the bottom of the barrel. A basket of handmade soaps with a couple texture overlays. 6.25.13

This is the old seed elevator on the edge of town in Calhoun, Missouri. I passed by this place twice a day during the school year for 12 years as a kid. Funny, it looks about the same. I'm not sure if it is still in use, but looks better structurally than some of the houses in town.

An early spring image and an all-time favorite of mine. I got lucky here. The couple just happened to be walking at the same time I made this image. As Chuck Hearn, the voice of the LA Lakers always said, 'I'd rather be lucky than good." 6.21.13

Have a great weekend all.

Late posting today. Edited with a painting effect and added a texture to the background. 6.20.13

Best viewed in large size.

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This was taken a couple weeks ago and the water is still standing in the field only more. It has been a wet spring and early summer thus far.

This is a "lollipop daisy" I got at Lowes. A couple years ago I got a pink one there. I have this on my front porch and it kind of cheers me up every time I go in or out of the house. I love all flowers but it is kind of nice to have something unique once in awhile. 6.1713

This about says it all. A few days rest and I should be back to normal.

It's my opinion that if you take enough pictures you are bound to get lucky once in awhile. This is one of those times. I was very far away and had to crop this and honestly is not the best photograph technically speaking, but hey I seldom get everything perfect, so here you have it... 6.7.13

Thanks for all comments on yesterday's rose. This is another flower photo (as you can see).

I have approximate 30 or so roses planted all around the house. They are getting older and do not produce like they used to, but still are so beautiful. This is one of my favorites. 6.5.13

This little guy was practically doing the splits to get to a little treat. I took a toilet paper roll and covered it with crunchy peanut butter and rolled it in bird seed and voile a quickie bird treat. They love it. 6.4.13

This is from last year. Haven't seen too many butterflies so far this year. The flowers are going to bloom late since the were planted late. I am hoping the butterfly bushes in the back do their thing. 5.30.13

Zooo